We now find out that the horrifying oil spill in the Gulf may well have been due to the lax standards and poor oversight of government agencies. The BP disaster is not Obama's Katrina; it's Cheney's delayed Katrina. The clear push to explore for oil off-shore, regardless of scrutiny or proper permits or supervision is a function of a policy decision made at the very top. And there's one leading politician today who is still riding that particular theme. Check out this exquisitely timed Corner post from March 31, three weeks before the BP disaster:
"Many Americans fear that President Obama’s new energy proposal is once again “all talk and no real action,” this time in an effort to shore up fading support for the Democrats’ job-killing cap-and-trade (a.k.a. cap-and-tax) proposals. Behind the rhetoric lie new drilling bans and leasing delays; soon to follow are burdensome new environmental regulations. Instead of “drill, baby, drill,” the more you look into this the more you realize it’s “stall, baby, stall... Next week I’m headed to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, where I look forward to discussing what “Drill, baby, drill” really means.”
Yes, this is the inane rhetoric of Sarah Palin, who - of course - has not adjusted her view one iota since the oil started spewing at a vast rate into the Gulf of Mexico. Check this quote out (it's at the 15 minute mark of the speech here):
"After inheriting a good pro-development GOP plan that opened up both coasts for drilling, the Obama administration halted development ... and now we're gonna study, more study of the South Atlantic and parts of the Gulf of Mexico ... my goodness, folks, these areas have been studied to death ... I have seen so many, many studies! I say, let's send the White House this message: that, you know, we can save taxpayer time, save money and announce: there is oil and gas down there, and we can produce it safely and responsibly! We don't need more studies, we need more action! Because energy produced in America is security for America, and it is jobs for American workers, jobs that can't be outsourced. Let's drill baby, drill, not stall, baby, stall!"
Is there a clearer example of someone being wrong about something in public life - and refusing to acknowledge even a shred of reality? She really is the Bush-Cheney Republican party leader in so many ways.